Bra accessories

ABSTRACT

An accessory for use with a conventional brassiere, includes elements for securing the accessory to a conventional brassiere, and in one embodiment includes a pad of cushioning material having a central portion adapted to receive a portion of a brassiere containing an under wire and wing portions adapted to be folded over said portion of a brassiere containing an under wire and secured together in an manner enabling release; and in another embodiment includes a flexible sleeve for receiving a therapeutic element, and securing elements on respective end portions of the sleeve, the securing elements each being adapted to be secured to the straps of a brassiere.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to provisional application Ser. No. 62/453,414 filed Feb. 24, 2017.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to accessories for brassieres.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Accessories for use with brassieres have been known, and include such devices as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,464,717 and 7,309,275 and published patent application no. 2012/0083863 to provide therapeutic devices such as gel packs to the upper torso of a female. Such devices, however, require specific construction of portions of the brasserie; and cannot easily be used with conventional brassieres. Other problems some women have is the intrusion of the under wire of some brassieres; which can often be uncomfortable. It is therefore, and object of the present invention to provide accessories that may be used with conventional brassieres to resolve such problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this end, an accessory for a brassiere includes elements for securing the accessory to a conventional brassiere, and in one embodiment includes a pad of cushioning material that may be affixed around the under wire of a brassiere. The elements for securing the accessory to a conventional brassieres include wing elements of the pad that may be wrapped around the portion of the brassiere that includes the under wire of the brassiere and secured together to position the pad of cushioning material around the portions of the under wire that may be broken or otherwise intrusive to the wearer.

In another embodiment, the accessory includes a sleeve that may receive a therapeutic gel pack or the like, the sleeve having on its end portions elements that may engage around the straps of a brassiere in order to position the sleeve on the wearer of the brassiere on any or several locations on the body as desired.

These and other objects, and advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the description given below which is made in conjunction with the following drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates two conditions of an under wire of a brassiere that has broken and may cause discomfort to the wearer;

FIG. 2 illustrates the back side of an accessory for a conventional brassiere having wing elements of the pad that may be wrapped around the portion of the brassiere to allay discomfort from the under wire of the brassiere;

FIG. 3 illustrates the front side of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 2 in an open condition;

FIG. 5 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 2 with one wing portion folded into position;

FIG. 6 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 2 with both wing portions folded into position;

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate embodiment of an accessory for a conventional brassiere having wing elements of the pad that may be wrapped around a side portion of the brassiere to allay discomfort from the under wire of the brassiere;

FIG. 8 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 7 with one wing portion folded into position;

FIG. 9 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 7 with both wing portions folded into position;

FIG. 10 illustrates the reverse side of the embodiment of FIG. 7 as shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates the sleeve of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates the assembled product of the embodiment of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 12 as used on the front of a wearer;

FIG. 14 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 12 as used on the back of a wearer;

FIG. 15 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 12 as used around the back of the neck of a wearer;

FIG. 16 illustrates an alternate use of the embodiment of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a brassiere 10 having an under wire 12 that may become damaged and protrude through the fabric at locations in the brassiere, such as at the front 13 of the brassiere or a side portion 14. Such protrusions of the under wire 12 may cause considerable discomfort to the wearer of the brassiere. Additionally, often without breaking, and under wire can protrude through the fabric of a brassiere to cause discomfort to the wearer of the brassiere.

As shown in FIG. 4, an accessory 20 for a brassiere includes a pad 22 of cushioning material such as a cotton or polyester batting covered in a fabric material and formed in a generally circular configuration; and having wing portions 24 and 25 at opposite perimeter portions of the pad 22. A central portion 26 of the pad may be placed around a portion of the under wire of the brassiere causing discomfort; and one wing portion 24 is folded around the under wire as illustrated in FIG. 5; and the other wing portion 25 can be folder over the first wing portion 24 as illustrated in FIG. 6 to encase the portion of the brassiere having the under wire segment causing discomfort.

The back side 24 a of the first wing portion has attachments 24 b which may be snap fasteners; and the front side 25 a of the wing portion 25 has attachments 25 b mating with the attachments 24 b. These attachments may be snap fasteners or alternate attachments as mating hook-and-loop materials; and enable the accessory to be fastened around a portion of the brassiere having the under wire segment causing discomfort in a relatively easy and simple manner; and yet easily removable. In FIG. 4, the dimension A extending across the accessory 20 preferably is approximately 4 inches; while the vertical dimension A is approximately 4¾ inches. The dimension B in FIG. 5 is about f inch and dimension C in Fig. C is about if inches to accommodate most conventional brassiere sizes.

FIGS. 7 through 10 illustrate an alternate embodiment of an accessory 30 for a conventional brassiere having wing elements 32 and 33 of the pad that may be wrapped around a side portion of the brassiere to allay discomfort from the under wire of the brassiere. In FIG. 7, the dimension A extending the length of the accessory 30 preferably is approximately 7f inches; while the middle dimension B is approximately 3 inches. The dimension C in FIG. 7 is about 2½ inches and dimension D in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 is also about 2½ inches. The width dimension E in FIG. 7 is about 1½ inches to accommodate most conventional brassier sizes. The box 20 a and 30 a represent an area that may have the cushioning material; or alternatively the cushioning material can extend the majority of the dimension of the accessory 20 or 30.

FIG. 11 illustrates a sleeve 42 of an accessory 40 shown in FIG. 12. Sleeve 42 is formed preferably of a flexible fabric material and is adapted to receive a therapeutic gel pack that may be heated or cooled as well understood in the field. Attached to the end portions 43 and 44 of th sleeve 42 are connectors 45 and 46 that may be formed as arcuate hooks able to be retained around the straps of a brassiere. Such devices are described in my U.S. Pat. No. RE 43,766 issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 23, 2012 for a Bra Strap Retainer; whose disclosure is incorporated herein.

As shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15, the accessory 40 may be affixed to the straps of the brassiere in multiple positions to hold a gel pack where desired. In FIG. 16 the device can also beheld to other body areas by selective use of an elastic band. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An accessory for use with a conventional brassiere, including elements for securing the accessory to a conventional brassiere, said accessory including a pad of cushioning material having a central portion adapted to receive a portion of a brassiere containing an under wire and wing portions adapted to be folded over said portion of a brassiere containing an under wire and secured together in an manner enabling release.
 2. An accessory for use with a brassiere, including elements for securing the accessory to a conventional brassiere, said accessory including a flexible sleeve for receiving a therapeutic element, and securing elements on respective end portions of said sleeve, said securing elements each being adapted to be secured to the straps of a brassiere. 